Nato must respond to Russian presence in Belarus, says Estonia
NATO must send thousands more troops to eastern Europe after Russia’s de facto annexation of Belarus, the Estonian defence minister has said.
Kalle Laanet warned that the threat to Ukraine had increased significantly after Vladimir Putin decided to indefinitely extend the stay of its troops in Belarus, where military exercises had been due to end at the weekend. Speaking
to The Daily Telegraph at the Estonian embassy in London, Mr Laanet said that by keeping Russian forces in Belarus, it was effectively a vassal state of the Kremlin.
“In my point of view, it is two states, one leader, and they are together,” Mr Laanet said.
He said it was “concerning” that 30,000 troops remained in Belarus and warned that being just “100km from Vilnius or from Warsaw”, meant Russian troops had shortened their “readiness time” to invade. He cautioned that if Mr Putin did not push for an invasion in the “short term”, it would take place in the “long term”, and that Russia would keep troops on the border, possibly for years to come.
He claimed that “for Putin, it is not a problem to keep soldiers in tents” and predicted most of the troops currently in Belarus would stay put.
“Nato has to strengthen the eastern flank,” Mr Laanet stressed, as he said that this could be done by sending thousands
more troops and “extra capabili- ties” to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
He said the act of deploying more troops to these countries not only provided protection but acted as a deterrent to Moscow and would send a “strong message to Russia”.
However, Mr Laanet said that as well as more troops, a combination of greater air defence, ground capabilities and cyber security were essential to protecting the eastern flank.
Currently, the UK has sent 1,700 British troops to Estonia. Around 850 soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh left for Estonia last week, where they joined 900 British military personnel already based in the Baltic state.
Britain also has a Light Cavalry Squadron of about 150 personnel deployed to Poland.
Mr Laanet said those British troops
who had deployed alongside their Estonian counterparts “had a very good cooperation; they understand each other”.
He said soldiers from Nato countries training together was more important than ever because if they go to war with Russia, they will do so “side by side” and have finessed “how to act together”.
Despite the fact that “Russia is threat number one”, Mr Laanet insisted that members of the alliance were unafraid. “I believe that the whole world is concerned,
but we as members of Nato and also members of the EU, are not afraid,” he said, adding that “Russia accepts only power”.
Citing Estonia’s former belonging to the Soviet Union, Mr Laanet said his country was all too aware of “what kind of threat can come to Estonia”.
However, he said that for thirty years the country had been preparing to take care of itself and now “mentally and physically we are ready to protect our country”.
Mr Laanet also spoke of Mr Putin approaching his 70th birthday and his desire “to build up his legacy”.
“When he started as a president, he said very clearly he would like to enlarge the influence of Russia, by territory, mentally, and all these things together. And he’s doing it: Georgia in 2008, Ukraine in 2014,” he said.